Rachel's Birthday
by CapeCodPhoenix
Summary: Now a high school graduate, and no longer trapped within the conservative walls of McKinley High or the borders of Lima, Ohio, Quinn has vowed to herself to make up for her past behavior by making Rachel's birthday unforgettable.
1. 18

_**December 18**__**th**__** 2012**_

It's morning, early morning. Rachel's been up for all of five minutes when she hears a knock on the door.

She doesn't know who it could possibly be. There aren't many people who visit her and Kurt, aside from on Thanksgiving, but that had been because Kurt's boss had invited all those people. She wonders if it could be Brody, but she knows that Brody would not have woken up in time to make it all the way to her apartment at this early morning hour.

She hears a second knock on the door. She makes her way over to the door, gasping when she sees Quinn on the other side.

Rachel screams. She's so excited to see the blonde, she doesn't care that she's probably woken up and pissed off all her neighbors and Kurt, all she knows is that Quinn's currently standing right in front of her.

"Happy Birthday," Quinn says.

Rachel just wraps her arms around the blonde. Rachel hadn't been up long enough to realize that it was her birthday until Quinn said that.

"What are you doing here?" Rachel asks as she steps back, letting Quinn into the apartment.

"I'm here to make your eighteenth birthday unforgettable," Quinn says.

Quinn tells Rachel to go on with her day as she normally would, but to come back to the apartment when she's done with classes.

Rachel does as Quinn tells her. On her way back to her apartment after classes, she thinks about her day so far. The day definitely started on a good note, seeing Quinn, but she's internally bothered by the fact that, aside from Quinn, nobody else has wished her a Happy Birthday yet. Not even Brody or Kurt. She doesn't let her hurt show though. She smiles because at the very least, Quinn remembered, and she wouldn't have thought that the blonde even knew when her birthday was, let alone cared so much as to surprise her.

When she enters her apartment, she half hopes that there's a surprise party there, explaining why nobody mentioned her birthday earlier, but she only finds Quinn smiling brightly at her. She's not sure why, but Quinn seems to be the only one who cares to make her first legal day of adulthood a good one.

Quinn tells Rachel to dress up, that they have reservations for five, though she refuses to tell Rachel where they're going.

While Rachel gets ready for what she hopes will be a better night than it was a day, her fathers call her, wishing her a happy birthday. At least they remember, though that isn't surprising, they are her fathers after all.

Rachel gasps when she sees the taxi stop in front of the fanciest vegan restaurant in New York City. Quinn throws some money at the cab driver, telling him to keep the change as she gets out of the cab. Quinn extends her hand for Rachel to grab onto, helping Rachel out of the cab. Rachel barely registers that Quinn isn't letting go of her hand as they walk towards the restaurant.

Rachel looks around her in awe. Quinn tells the hostess that she's made a reservation under 'Fabray.' The girl nods, grabs some menus and leads the Quinn and Rachel to a table in the back. The table is private and set for two. Rachel realizes that nobody else will be joining them, at least not for dinner.

Quinn asks their waiter for sparkling cider, and they pretend it's champagne. This works well for both of them, neither of them being a big fan of alcohol to begin with. They're also both underage, so they wouldn't have been able to order wine or champagne anyway.

Quinn raises her glass and toasts Rachel. Rachel simply beams in response, clinking her glass against Quinn's.

Rachel moans at the taste of her entrée. She's never tasted anything so delightful before.

When the check comes, Rachel reaches for it. Quinn tries to grab it first, but Rachel takes it from her reach. Rachel looks at it and gasps at the expense. She tells Quinn that it's too much, that Quinn shouldn't spend this kind of money on her, but Quinn simply rolls her eyes, placing her debit card in the fold and signals the waiter to take it.

Rachel thanks Quinn profusely as they walk out of the restaurant. It's only six o'clock, and Rachel wonders what they're going to do now. The night was still young. Quinn opts not to take another cab, and entwines her fingers with Rachel's leading her to their next destination. They walk and talk until they find themselves in the same spot they had been in two years ago when Rachel had revealed to the Glee Club that she had gotten them all tickets to Cats, only to be told that it had been closed for years.

They continue on until they're in front of the Gershwin Theatre. Rachel informs Quinn of when she and Kurt had snuck into the theatre and got to sing on the stage. Quinn tells Rachel that someday soon, they'll be begging her to come back and sing on it once more. Rachel smiles at Quinn's confidence in her.

Quinn smiles a little cockily as she pulls out two tickets from her pocket, leaving Rachel squealing. Rachel hugs Quinn, before dragging her excitedly into the theatre. She'd never seen Wicked live before.

Quinn watches Rachel more than she watches the actual show. Rachel is captivated by the performance.

After the show ends, Rachel and Quinn stand up and head into the lobby. Rachel heads towards the exit, but Quinn grabs her hand and pulls her in another direction. Quinn tells Rachel that she's arranged for them to meet the cast, and Rachel squeals once more.

By the time they actually leave the Gershwin, Rachel has a number of autographed Wicked merchandise, and is completely giddy. She tells Quinn that this is her best birthday ever, despite Quinn and her fathers being the only ones who remembered it.

Quinn grins at Rachel, though internally she wants to knock some sense into her friends. Particularly Kurt.

Quinn stops at a little place that Rachel's never heard of to buy them some vegan ice cream, which they eat as they walk back to Rachel's apartment. They stop in front of Rachel's door. Quinn closes her eyes and leans in to kiss Rachel. It takes Rachel about a second to get over the shock and surprises herself when she kisses Quinn back.

Quinn beams at Rachel.

"I've been wanting to do that for so long," Quinn tells Rachel.

Rachel's cheeks flush bright red.

Quinn looks down at her feet for a few moments before bringing her eyes to meet Rachel's. Quinn rubs her arm nervously before asking "Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Yes," Rachel answers, surprising herself again. Rachel's not as surprised that she says yes as she is when she realizes she really does want to be Quinn's girlfriend. She makes a mental note to break up with Brody the next time she sees him.

Rachel leans in to kiss Quinn once more, before opening the door to her apartment. She pulls Quinn into the apartment, closing the door behind her. Her birthday's almost over and she wants to make the most of what's left of it cuddling with her girlfriend.


	2. 19

_**December 18**__**th**__** 2013**_

Rachel wakes up, keeping her eyes shut and taking in everything. She can feel the emptiness of the sheets beside her, but that's okay because she can hear, whom she can only assume is Quinn, cooking in the kitchen. She can smell the aroma of breakfast wafting into her room, and it smells fantastic.

Quinn's standing in the doorway, smiling at Rachel, watching the girl breathe. Quinn's holding a tray with breakfast on it. Homemade tofu scramble.

"Happy birthday, my darling Rachel," Quinn says.

Rachel opens her eyes at the sound of her girlfriend's angelic voice. She watches as Quinn saunters over. She feels the bed dip as Quinn sits down next to her.

Rachel sits up, and Quinn passes her breakfast to her.

"Happy anniversary," Quinn whispers in Rachel's ear, sending shivers up her spine.

Rachel wants to tell Quinn that she loves her. She's been wanting to tell her that for a while, but Quinn hasn't said it yet, and Rachel's afraid of saying it first because what if Quinn doesn't say it back. She's not sure she could handle that.

"Happy anniversary," Rachel says back.

Quinn's been planning this for months. Everything has to be perfect because Rachel deserves nothing less. It's not only her birthday, it's their anniversary, and Quinn has been reminding everyone involved incessantly for the last month or so.

Rachel thinks about how to make their anniversary special. She and Quinn had previously decided that since their anniversary is on Rachel's birthday, that Quinn would plan out everything, though Rachel was allowed to get Quinn a gift. Quinn had stressed that she doesn't need anything, that having Rachel is more than she deserves, but Rachel had gotten Quinn a few things anyway.

Rachel takes a bite of her tofu scramble and moans in delight.

"When did you get so good at making this?" Rachel asks.

"When I started eating mostly vegan," Quinn responds nonchalantly, stealing a bite off of Rachel's plate.

Rachel turns to look at Quinn, her mouth gaping. Quinn stifles a laugh, seeing that Rachel hadn't realized that she still had food in her mouth.

"Close your mouth while you eat," Quinn chastises playfully.

Rachel closes her mouth, quickly chewing and swallowing her food before speaking.

"I apologize for my ill-mannered response, however, I was unaware that you had taken on a vegan lifestyle. I am curious as to when this began and why was I not informed of this."

Quinn smiles adoringly at Rachel's rambling.

"I'm not completely vegan," Quinn says, "I don't think I could give up my bacon, but I started eating vegan meals once a week since I've been at Yale. It was my way of connecting with you even though you weren't around. Now I only eat non-vegan meals a couple times a week." Quinn tells Rachel.

Rachel wants nothing more than to kiss her girlfriend, so she does.

When they surface for air, Quinn chuckles. Rachel attempts to arch her eyebrow in the way that Quinn always seems to do, but it's not the same. Quinn finds it humorous that Rachel seems so surprised despite that they always eat vegan food. Rachel had always assumed that Quinn only ate vegan because of her, and ate normally when they weren't together.

Quinn leaves Rachel to get ready. She knocks lightly on Kurt's door. Kurt opens his door to find himself faced with the infamous raised brow that Rachel had been trying to imitate earlier in the morning. Kurt simply nods. He's ready.

When Rachel emerges from the bedroom, she finds the room covered in birthday decorations. She wasn't expecting much from anyone this year. She figured, after last year, that only Quinn and her fathers would remember, but when Kurt comes out singing 'Happy Birthday' she's happy to be proven wrong.

Rachel spots a pile of gifts on the table. Kurt hands Rachel his gift first. She squeals when she pulls out a pair of shoes that she had been eyeing in the window of a store a few blocks over. Kurt must have remembered them. Rachel hugs him before moving on. She gets an iTunes gift card that appears to be from Noah, a stuffed duck named Mallard from Brittany, a little black dress from Santana, and some books of sheet music from Blaine.

She opens Quinn's presents last. The first thing she opens is a record player, which Quinn informs her will convert her records to mp3s if she so desires. The next gift she opens is a black beret with a gold star on the front of it. The letter 'R' is embroidered in the middle of the star.

Rachel opens her next gift, a print of the two of them from over the summer. Quinn's arm is around Rachel, and Rachel's head is on Quinn's shoulder. Neither of them are looking at the camera, they appear to be looking at the sky, so Rachel surmises it must have been taken during the firework show. She supposes that would explain why she didn't know the picture even existed, but she loves the way it shows how they fit together so naturally. The photo is centered in a heart-shaped frame, in which the words "Quinn and Rachel, forever" were written in Quinn's elegant scrawl.

Quinn hands Rachel an envelope containing her last present. Rachel squeals when she sees two tickets for The Lion King on Broadway. Quinn tells her that they're for tomorrow because she had other things planned for tonight. When Rachel connects her lips with Quinn's, Kurt excuses himself from the room.

Rachel is somewhat annoyed that she still has classes. She thinks her birthday is too close to the holidays for classes to be held on it, but she knows she has no control over that and hopes that next year she'll receive a respite from classes on her birthday.

With all her classes for the day finished, Rachel makes her way over to the address that Quinn had texted her. It turns out to be a restaurant called Ribs, which instantly makes Rachel feel uneasy. She thinks it must be some sort of Sports Grill, which probably doesn't have many vegan options.

Rachel double checks the address to make sure she's at the right place. She almost doesn't want to go in, but then she remembers that it was Quinn who organized this, so she trusts in her girlfriend, and goes inside.

Quinn is waiting just inside the front door of Ribs for Rachel. Quinn's smile lights up the room when the door opens and she sees Rachel. She quickly pulls Rachel into a hug, giving her a peck on the cheek before she lets go.

Quinn entwines their hands and leads Rachel into the restaurant. It's nothing like Rachel had envisioned. Quinn stops in front of a booth, and Rachel squeals when she sees her fathers sitting in it.

Rachel is beyond thrilled when she realizes that, though the restaurant isn't a vegan restaurant, they do have an entirely different menu for vegans. She and Quinn order off of the vegan menu, and her fathers order from the regular menu. The four of them talk, Rachel and Quinn share their food.

When they finish with their meals, Quinn stands, offering her hand to Rachel.

"Quinn Fabray!" Rachel says, "You are not leaving my fathers to pay for your meal!"

Quinn smirks at Rachel and says, "I'm not leaving your fathers to pay for anything, honey. It's all been taken care of."

Rachel looks at her fathers, whose expressions, Rachel is sure, are just as shocked as her own. Quinn, however, is looking smug.

They're almost to the doors when they're stopped by a tall man. Rachel thinks they're about to get busted for leaving without paying. She silently scolds herself for thinking so little of Quinn; she knows her girlfriend wouldn't do something like that, but she has no idea how the bill had been paid.

Quinn smiles at the gentleman.

"Mr. Ribeiro," Quinn says.

Rachel looks at Quinn curiously.

"Quinn, how many times have I told you to call me Rob?"

"I lost count when I was five. Though that was probably because you had told me more times than I could count at the time," Quinn laughs.

Quinn feels Rachel squeeze her hand.

"Mr. Ribeiro, this is my girlfriend, Rachel, and her parents, Leroy and Hiram."

"So you do know our names," Leroy comments.

Quinn rolls her eyes and continues, "Rachel, Mr. and Mr. Berry, this is Robert Ribeiro. Mr. Ribeiro owns this fine establishment. His wife, Lisa, grew up with my mother."

The five of them exchange pleasantries before Quinn reminds them that they have an elsewhere to be. At least, she and Rachel do.

"It's always a pleasure seeing you, Mr. Ribeiro, but I'm afraid Rachel and I are running late to our next destination." Rachel rolls her eyes, knowing that Quinn was trying to keep everything secret. "Thank you again for dinner, it was amazing."

"Anytime, Quinn, and Happy Birthday, Rachel."

Rachel thanks Mr. Ribeiro, and they leave the restaurant. Quinn informs Rachel that her fathers will not be joining them for the rest of the evening, but they will be staying in New York until Saturday when she and Rachel leave as well.

Quinn and Rachel walk hand in hand through the city, talking about everything and nothing at the same time, as they so often did when Quinn was in New York. Quinn stops in front of the Michelangelo Hotel, which Rachel recognizes as one of the nicest hotels in New York.

A thousand different thoughts race through Rachel's mind. The one she can't seem to shake though is that Quinn expects them to have sex tonight. She can't think of another reason why Quinn might have brought them to a hotel when Rachel has her own room in her apartment that's not too far from the hotel as it is.

"Quinn," Rachel says hesitantly.

"Close your eyes, Rach," Quinn says.

Rachel looks at Quinn, seeing nothing but adoration in her eyes, she complies.

Quinn leads Rachel into the hotel, guiding her to a room somewhere in the middle of the hotel.

Rachel feels Quinn let go of her. After a moment, she feels Quinn's hot breath tickling her ear.

"Open your eyes," Quinn says.

Rachel opens her eyes. Her mouth drops in shock. She sees Santana, Noah, Mercedes, Kurt, Mike, Finn, the entirety of New Directions, Brody, and a number of her classmates from NYADA. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but it hadn't been this.

"Happy Birthday Rachel!" everyone shouts, though Rachel distinctly hears Santana say 'hobbit' instead of her name.

Rachel can feel herself tearing up. She never imagined that all these people would come to New York to celebrate her birthday, though she had a feeling that the New Directions were missing school, because she was sure that it hadn't let out yet. It was touching, and she knew that Quinn had organized everything.

Rachel feels Quinn's strong arms wrap around her. Quinn's lips connect with the top of Rachel's head, and Rachel feels as if she's floating.

It's nearly ten by the time the party ends and Rachel and Quinn get back to Rachel's apartment. Rachel had thoroughly enjoyed her birthday. It was nice seeing everybody from Lima, and she now has an abundance of gift cards to various places such as Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, and mostly for the iTunes store.

Now that they're back at the apartment, it's no longer Rachel's birthday, well it is, but they had agreed that after Rachel's birthday festivities were over, it would be solely about their anniversary. It's nothing big, because Rachel's birthday and her classes had taken most of the day, but they have gifts to exchange, and Quinn, once again, has a few surprises up her sleeve.

Rachel stops in her doorway. She sees a blanket on the ground, with a picnic basket and champagne glasses in the middle. There are several unlit candles scattered about the room as well.

Quinn comes in with a lighter, a bottle of sparkling apple cider and a container. She quickly lights the candles, pours the cider, and opens the container, which holds several vegan chocolate covered strawberries.

Quinn feeds Rachel a strawberry, and her smile widens when she sees a bit of juice from the strawberry running down her chin.

Rachel decides she wants to give Quinn her present first.

Quinn carefully unwraps the gift. It's Romeo and Juliet. But better than that, it's an old tattered copy of Romeo and Juliet. Quinn knows it must have cost a lot of money, and been really hard to find.

"I'm not sure what edition it is," Rachel says, interrupting Quinn's thoughts. "Though with things like Shakespeare, it's almost impossible to tell."

Quinn opens her mouth to thank Rachel, to tell her that she loves it because she does, but Rachel keeps on talking.

"I got it for you because, aside from your love of old, musty classics, I feel like, we're not so different from them. You were the head Cheerio, and I was the loser Gleek. We were supposed to be enemies; we were expected to be enemies, but somewhere along the way we fell in love. Only we'll get a happier ending than Romeo and Juliet did."

"I love it, "Quinn says, "And I love you."

Rachel beams at Quinn, so relieved to hear those three words, and to now be able to say them without worrying. "I love you, too, Quinn."

Quinn leans over and takes Rachel's lips in her own. When the need for air becomes too much, she breaks the kiss, leaning her forehead against Rachel's.

"My turn," Quinn says.

"_Right from the start, you were a thief, you stole my heart and I your willing victim_" Quinn sings.

Quinn pulls out a small box and opens it, revealing a necklace. It was white gold, in the shape of a heart. On the front there was a small 'Q' engraved towards the bottom, so small that if you didn't look closely, you wouldn't see.

"My heart is yours," Quinn says to Rachel.

Rachel looks at it in awe. She picks it up, running her fingers across it. She feels more engraving on the back, so she flips it over. The back reads 'I can take all the madness this world has to give, but I won't last a day without you.'

"I hope you don't mind that I borrowed a few words from Barbra," Quinn says.

Rachel shakes her head.

"It's kind of ironic, because we spend so many days apart, and after everything that's happened. But at some point, I realized it's true. In high school, there were days where I felt like giving up, but then you'd appear, and somehow, you'd make me feel like everything was going to be okay."

"Quinn," Rachel says quietly.

"I got this for you for several reasons. The first and most important reason is to remind you that I love you, and that my heart will always be yours. I know it gets hard with our colleges being so far apart, even if it is only 83.3 miles. I can't always be there in person because of classes and stuff, but I'm always here for you. The quote on the back, I mean that. But I also know that Barbra sings that song, and she represents your idol, your passion, and your future. You're already a star, baby, and someday everyone will see how bright you shine."

"Can you put it on me?" Rachel asks.

Quinn carefully puts the necklace on Rachel. She pulls Rachel into a kiss as soon as she's done.

"Happy anniversary, my love," Quinn says, as they break for air.

"Happy anniversary, baby," Rachel says.

The pair fall asleep in each others arms on the blanket on the floor.


	3. 20

_**December 18**__**th**__** 2014**_

Quinn is tired. Oh so very tired. She took her last final mere hours ago, and she worries that she may not have done well because her mind has been on today and Rachel and getting to New York.

But now she's here even if it is only half past midnight.

She has many plans for the day, though she's starting to worry that she will run out of ideas for Rachel's birthday within a few years. She has aimed so high these last few years that she wonders what will happen if she doesn't have anything so extravagant planned.

She makes her way to Rachel and Kurt's apartment, sending Rachel a text when she's in the elevator on her way up.

A tired-looking, but happy Rachel opens the door, pulling Quinn in for a kiss. Quinn melts into Rachel. It has been far too long since they've been able to see each other. Sure it has only been about a month, but for them it's still far too long.

"Happy birthday, darling," Quinn says when the kiss breaks, leaning her forehead against Rachel's.

"Happy anniversary, baby," Rachel says.

Quinn smiles dopily at Rachel. She feels so lucky to have such an amazing girlfriend. In the back of her mind she can't help but wonder how she got Rachel. "Happy anniversary."

Quinn leans in to take Rachel's lips in her own once more before she says, "It's been such a long night, and all I really want to do is fall asleep holding my beautiful girlfriend."

"Sounds like a dream come true, baby," Rachel says. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you, too. It's so hard being away from you so much. But all that's going to change soon."

Rachel looks up in confusion. They still have a year and a half left of college. She wonders if Quinn is planning to transfer to a school in New York. She hopes she isn't. As much as Rachel would love for Quinn to be around more often, she knows that Yale is Quinn's dream school, and she doesn't want Quinn to leave it for her.

"I was going to wait to tell you," Quinn says. She kicks her bags into the loft before closing the door behind herself and Rachel. She pulls an envelope out of her purse and hands it to Rachel.

Rachel takes out the letter and sees the heading from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. _We are pleased to inform you that you've been accepted_

Rachel is torn between being proud of Quinn (and she is so incredibly proud of her), being happy that she is willing to transfer to New York just to be with her, and being mad at Quinn for leaving Yale behind.

"Quinn," Rachel says, uncertainty plastered across her face. "As much as I would love for you to be close to me, and I would, baby, I really would, Yale is your dream school. I don't want you to leave it. You deserve to get your diploma from the school of your dreams."

"Rach, baby, did you read the letter?" Quinn asks, a smile playing at the corner of her lips. Quinn's quite sure that Rachel hasn't read it, at least not all of it, else she would know her statement doesn't quite make sense.

"Yeah, it said you've been accepted into Tisch."

Quinn smiles at Rachel, chuckling softly.

"Rachel, read it again, all of it."

_Dear Ms. Fabray,_

_ We are pleased to inform you that you've been accepted as a Master's Degree candidate to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts._

"Master's Degree?" Rachel asks, confused.

"With all the AP credits I had, as well as a few college courses my parents forced me to take in the summer, I have enough credits to graduate at the end of the year." Quinn explains.

"Oh my God, Quinn, that's so amazing!" Rachel screeches, waking a disgruntled Kurt in the other room. "Why didn't you tell me you were graduating this year?"

"I talked to my academic advisor at the beginning of the semester, and she told me as long as I passed my classes, I'd be eligible to graduate at the end of the year. So I applied to a couple graduate programs here in the city. I was going to tell you, but I wanted to wait and see if I got in. I figured if I didn't get in, I could stay at Yale for an extra semester and try to build up my resume and reapply."

"Oh, Quinn, I'm so proud of you," Rachel says.

"Thanks Rach, but I'm so tired right now, and I have a big day planned, can we wait until your birthday's over to celebrate? I just want to hold you while I dream of you tonight."

"Let's get you to bed then," Rachel says.

Rachel wakes to the smell of the very strange combination of Strawberries and Sweet Potatoes. She walks out of the room to find Quinn cooking up a storm.

"Good morning, love," Rachel says. "It smells…interesting, what are you making?"

Quinn smiles at Rachel. She flips the pancake one last time, before placing it with the others on a plate. She takes a dish from the oven and turns everything off before walking over to Rachel and kissing her chastely.

"Every morning with you is a good morning," Quinn says causing Rachel to blush.

"I found a few recipes I thought you might like. We have Strawberry Shortcake Pancakes complete with Extra strawberries and a strawberry banana cream sauce. There's Sweet Potato Oatmeal Breakfast Casserole. And just in case those recipes are horrific, there's tofu scramble and fresh fruit."

Rachel stares at her girlfriend, wondering how she got so lucky. In high school, she never would have dreamed that she would be in love with Quinn Fabray, or more surprising than that, that Quinn Fabray would be in love with her. She thinks back to her eighteenth birthday; the one where everything changed. She thinks Quinn must have felt something for her long before then, else things wouldn't have turned out the way they are. Rachel makes a mental note to ask Quinn exactly when she fell in love with her.

"You're too good to me," Rachel says.

Quinn's face becomes somber.

"I'll never be good enough for you," Quinn says under her breath, not intending for Rachel to hear, but Rachel hears it.

Before Rachel can say anything about the mumbled comment, Quinn says, "You deserve it, Rach. You deserve every good thing that comes your way and so much more."

It isn't the first time Quinn's said something like that, but Rachel feels herself fall a little bit more in love with Quinn at the statement.

Rachel leans in to kiss Quinn, before Kurt comes out and joins them for breakfast. Quinn's original comment forgotten for the moment. Even Kurt, though disgusted by the idea of it, enjoys the Sweet Potato Oatmeal Breakfast Casserole that Quinn had made, as well as everything else.

Kurt gives Rachel her birthday present. He says it's from both him and Blaine. Rachel wonders when that happened again, but decides to save her questions for tomorrow.

Rachel gasps when she sees the little black strapless dress that she had tried on when she had visited Kurt at Vogue a couple years before. She knows how expensive this dress is even though it is a couple years old.

"Kurt," she says.

"Isabelle sends her regards and says to wish you a happy birthday on her behalf."

"I…thank you."

Rachel opens the rest of her presents from her friends, which consist mostly of gift cards. She receives a royal blue peacoat to match her red one from her fathers. She sighs in contentment when she finds she only has her birthday gifts from Quinn left. Quinn always gives her the best presents. And Quinn always makes her open everyone else's first.

"Oh my God, Quinn," Rachel says when she opens the first of Quinn's presents. Nobody else would think much of it. To the untrained eye, it's just a bottle of perfume. But it isn't just any old bottle of perfume. It's Rachel's absolute favorite perfume. It was a limited edition that very few people even knew about that had been discontinued when they were just infants.

Rachel doesn't know how Quinn knows about this particular perfume and how much she likes it. She doesn't have the slightest idea where Quinn managed to find it, but she knows it must have cost her a fortune.

Rachel also isn't aware that Quinn has purchased multiple bottles, so that Rachel will never run out.

"How did you…?" Rachel looks up at Quinn. Tears threaten to fall from Rachel's eyes.. Rachel feels acutely aware of how lucky she is to have Quinn. How every gift from Quinn shows just how much Quinn loves her and how much thought goes into every single one of them. She loves how every day with her girlfriend feels like a dream.

"You keep the empty bottle on your dresser still. I don't know how long it's been empty, but it must have meant a lot to you," Quinn says.

Rachel takes Quinn's face in her hands and pulls her closer. She kisses Quinn slowly, but with so much passion that Kurt can feel it two feet away with his eyes diverted.

When they break for air, Quinn says, "There's more, you know?"

Rachel laughs lightly her forehead resting against Quinn's. "I love you."

"I love you, too superstar."

Kurt fakes a cough effectively capturing their attention. Quinn rolls her eyes, but tells Rachel to finish opening her presents.

Rachel opens the next present. It's a CD. Rachel can't remember the last time somebody gave her a CD. Everyone has iPods now, so CDs are, unfortunately, becoming a thing of the past. The cover is rather plain, it's black with a small gold star in the center and the title of the album in white across the top. It's called _My Favorite Star_. Rachel turns it over to see what's on it.

She shocked to find it's all recordings of herself singing. It had "Get It Right" the song she had written and sung for Regionals junior year, "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" the song she had sung at Nationals senior year that had gotten her into NYADA, "Defying Gravity" from the diva-off with Kurt sophomore year, even songs that Quinn must have stolen from her Myspace page because she was sure she'd never sung those songs in front of her before. There was a song from her sophomore showcase, and a song she's sure she has only ever sang once when Quinn had asked her to.

The last present is in an envelope and Rachel can already tell that they're tickets to a Broadway show, though she isn't sure which one.

Quinn's smile gets bigger when Rachel's eyes bulge out seeing the tickets to "If/Then" the new Broadway musical with Idina Menzel in it. Rachel has been dying to see it despite the creepy resemblance the actress has to Shelby.

Rachel launches herself into Quinn's arms as they wrap around her waist.

"You spoil me," Rachel mumbles into Quinn's neck.

Quinn chuckles. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Quinn's plans for the day change immensely shortly after Rachel leaves for classes. She gets a call from Kelly, one of her friends from Yale who says that her father is working on a revival of Funny Girl on Broadway and the lead actress just dropped out. Kelly had heard Rachel sing on many of Rachel's visits and says that she's convinced her father to audition Rachel for the role. If he thinks she's good enough, the role is hers. The catch is, she has to audition today.

Quinn makes a few phone calls and sets the audition up for Rachel. She's smiling all day because she knows this is better than what she had planned anyway.

Rachel finds Quinn waiting for her outside her last class. She runs into Quinn's arms. Quinn gives her a quick peck and tells her that she has a surprise for her.

Quinn leads Rachel back to the Gershwin theater, and they're let in by a man on the inside.

"Quinn," Rachel gasps. "How did you manage this?"

"I have my ways," Quinn replies. Quinn peaks behind her and sees Kelly's father, Sterling, on the mezzanine. She brings Rachel on the stage and says "Baby, will you sing for me?"

Rachel beams at Quinn. "For you, anything."

Rachel feels like she should sing something from Wicked, simply because she's at the Gershwin, like she was senior year with Kurt, but she decides to sing something simply for Quinn, because, well it was Quinn and she knows that Quinn is her dream come true, even if God forbid she never makes it as a Broadway actress, she has Quinn. The dream she never realized she wanted until it became a reality.

Rachel sings Hall and Oates "You Make My Dreams" to Quinn. Sterling can feel Rachel's passion, and her talent is obvious. He's glad he let Kelly talk him into this.

"How long do we have?" Rachel asks Quinn. "Do I have time for another song or do we have to be out of her now?"

"You have time, baby. Sing your heart out."

Rachel sings "I'm Not That Girl" from Wicked, "Don't Rain On My Parade" from Funny Girl" and "Never Can Say Goodbye" by the Jackson 5 in tribute to Quinn before dragging Quinn onstage to sing their mash-up of "I Feel Pretty" and "Unpretty" that they had sung when Rachel was considering a nose job.

Rachel and Quinn are out with Kurt, Blaine, Brittany and Santana when Quinn gets a phone call.

"Quinn Fabray."

"Quinn, this is Sterling Harper."

"Hello, sir."

"I'm very impressed with your girlfriend's abilities."

"Thank you, sir."

"And yours as well."

Quinn's eyebrow lifts.

"Thank you, sir."

"I'll be calling Ms. Berry shortly."

"That's great, sir. Thank you, sir."

"She wasn't aware she was auditioning, was she?"

"No, sir."

"I thought as much. Well, Miss Fabray, I do have one final piece of business with you."

"Yes sir?"

"Would you perhaps consider being an understudy for the role of Glinda?"

Quinn's jaw drops.

"I don't know what to say sir."

"Well I was hoping for a yes, but think about it."

"Yes, sir."

"I'll be in touch."

"Yes, sir. Thank you so much, sir."

"Goodbye Quinn."

"Goodbye Mr. Harper."

When Quinn hangs up everyone is looking at her.

"What was that all about?" Santana asks.

Before Quinn even has a chance to answer, Rachel's phone rings.

She stares at her phone for a moment because she doesn't recognize the number.

"Rachel Berry speaking."

"Hello Miss Berry, this is Sterling Harper calling."

Rachel is confused. She doesn't know anybody named Sterling Harper.

"Your audition was quite impressive and I would like to formally offer you the part of Fanny Brice in our upcoming revival of Funny Girl."

Rachel is speechless. Her eyes widen and she turns to look at Quinn who is grinning ear-to-ear at her.

"Miss Berry?"

"I, I don't know what to say sir, this is an honor, but I'm confused. I haven't auditioned."

"What did you think you were doing at the Gershwin this afternoon?"

Rachel's jaw drops. "That was…Oh my God."

"I don't mean to pressure you, but I am rather short on time and I will need an answer within the next few days."

"It would be an honor, Mr. Harper."

"Fantastic, I'll send Quinn all the information, and if you would be so kind as to tell her to consider my offer as well, I would be most thankful."

"I, thank you."

"You deserve this, Miss Berry. Congratulations. Have a wonderful day."

"Thank you."

Rachel hangs up the phone, still in shock.

"I'm gonna be on Broadway…" Rachel breathes.

"I'm gonna be on Broadway!" Rachel screams excitedly.

Congratulations are shared as well as hugs and in Quinn's case kisses.

Rachel walks in to find an unlit Menorah on the counter. Quinn smirks behind her. "I thought you could lead us in the prayer."

"Quinn," Rachel says turning around to face her girlfriend.

"I know your faith is important to you, Rach."

Rachel teaches Quinn all about Hanukkah and lights the Menorah, saying all the Hebrew prayers. Quinn listens intently to Rachel, hanging onto every word, knowing one day they'll be teaching their children all this. Quinn grins at the thought of their children. She knows Rachel will be a fantastic mom.

"This is your present from yesterday," Quinn says as she hands Rachel a small box. Inside lay a hand-stitched bracelet that read "Destined for Broadway."

"I know your family has a tradition of not spending any money on Hanukkah presents, so I made it myself."

Quinn gives Rachel her next Hanukkah present, a hat that Quinn hat knit for her, and they play a few games of spin the dreidel before Rachel drags Quinn into the bedroom.

Rachel had decided that she was going to surprise Quinn this year and plan something for their anniversary. And she did. Her only flaw was in all the excitement that had happened, she had forgotten to set it up.

Quinn gasps as she enters the bedroom now filled with rose-petals and fake candles. She wonders when Rachel had time to do this.

Rachel sighs quietly in relief. She's happy she mentioned to Kurt what she wanted to do, and makes a mental note to thank him next time she sees him.

"Happy anniversary, Quinn."

"Happy anniversary, Rachel."

Rachel rushes to the closet where she had hidden Quinn's presents.

She hands one to Quinn. It's a book and Quinn doesn't recognize it. There are no marks, no designs, no words on the cover. Quinn looks up at Rachel whose knee is bouncing up and down impatiently. Quinn opens to the middle of the book and starts to read. She immediately recognizes the words and looks up at Rachel again. Tears in her eyes.

"I had them bound for you. I have no doubt you could be a successful writer if you wanted to."

"I love you," Quinn says. "So much. Thank you."

Quinn leans in to kiss Rachel. When they part, Rachel says, "That's not all."

Rachel gives Quinn her next present. It's another book, but this time when Quinn opens it, it's empty.

"For the next hundred poems," Rachel says.

Rachel gives Quinn one last present. It's another book, but this one is Quinn recognizes. _Pride & Prejudice_ another old tattered copy like the copy of _Romeo and Juliet_ Rachel gave Quinn last year. Quinn predicts this will be a tradition and she doesn't mind one bit.

Quinn gives Rachel her present. It's a silver frame with the word forever in elegant script written across the top. On the left there's two pictures. The top one shows Quinn and Rachel hugging after winning Nationals in Chicago. The bottom one shows Quinn holding Rachel around her waist. They're both smiling. Rachel's eyes are on the camera, and Quinn's are on Rachel. Quinn's chin rests on Rachel's shoulder and snow is falling around them, but they couldn't care less. On the right is one of Quinn's poems, titled "Forever."

"Quinn, it's beautiful," Rachel says. "I love it."

"And I love you."

"I love you, too."

Rachel and Quinn eventually find their way into Rachel's bed and Rachel turns on "The Avengers" because she knows it's one of Quinn's favorite movies.

Rachel's thinking about how awesome today was and how much everything has changed since two years ago when Quinn decided to surprise her and hijack her birthday which nobody else had remembered.

"Quinn?" Rachel says.

"Yes, baby?"

"Thank you for setting up that audition."

"You're welcome, but you should really thank Kelly. She thought of you when she heard the actress dropped out."

"I'll make sure to do that."

Silence.

"Quinn?"

"Yeah?"

"What was Mr. Harper talking about when he told me I should tell you to consider his offer?"

"He told you to say that?" Quinn asks. "I completely forgot he even offered me…"

"What?"

"When he called me to say that he was going to offer you the part, he told me he wanted me as an understudy for Glinda."

"Quinn! That's incredible!"

"I haven't really thought about it," Quinn says. "Broadway has always been your dream, not mine."

"Just know that whatever you decide, I support you."

"It would be kind of cool to play opposite my incredibly talented girlfriend."

"It would be, wouldn't it?"

"I just don't know if that's what I want to do right now, you know?"

"That's okay, Quinn. Take some time, just think about it?

Rachel kisses Quinn and says "I'm so proud of you."

"Not as proud as I am of you. You're incredible. I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Quinn. Always and forever."

"Always and forever."

Rachel snuggles closer into Quinn as they finish watching the movie. They fall asleep just short of midnight while the credits roll.


End file.
